Contrasts in Namibia

“Another glorious day in Paradise” as our leader Fred would say. Today we were off to Swakopmund via The White Lady of Brandberg, who by the way is neither white nor a lady.

The famous painting is in a river valley on the edge of the Brandberg range. The temperature in the reception area was already edging toward 40 degrees as we set off. The mountains rose ever higher around us, the heat bounced off the rocks as we ploughed our way either along the dry river valley, or negotiated rocks; all the time on the look out for the occasional tree where we could rest in the shade, have a drink of water and admire the weaver bird nests

After nearly an hour we reached the little hut below the paintings. Only six people were allowed on the platform at a time, so half the party were prised away from their water bottles (no food or drink allowed beside the paintings) and the rest of us rested gratefully in the shade. The wall paintings were amazing.

Then it was back to the coach and off across the desert to Henties Bay (120 kilometres away). As the mountains disappeared behind us there was nothing but miles and miles of gravel desert with the occasional tufts of grass and the occasional stunted tree.

Once at the coast we stopped at the first wreck along this incredibly impressive coast. As the coach door opened we were stunned at the drop in temperature (it had dropped from something near 40 degrees to a comfortable 20 degrees). There was a cool, on-shore wind blowing and we immediately reached for our fleeces before leaving the coach. Then it was a brisk walk down to the shore to see the wreck, and the inevitable photograph. We then turned to survey the scene behind us – miles and miles of desert, and realised that if one survived the shipwreck, and the perilous passage from the wreck to the shore, one’s troubles had only just started.

Namibia is a stark, rugged, empty, and unforgiving country; but nonetheless a stunningly beautiful one. It also does a wonderful line in sunsets! I can’t recommend it enough.

Contrasts of Southern India

Exploring Africa

I had never been to Africa before and my concerns were that it would be full of jostling people trying to sell trinkets. Perhaps the conditions would be rough and the hotels rudimentary. In the event Namibia was empty.

Caribbean Contrasts

Manchester Airport – early flight 9.25am. We were impressed by efficiency of ‘check-in’ and discovered that after we said bye-bye to our luggage at Manchester Airport, the next time we would see it would be in our cabin on board the Braemar.

The Great Elephant Search

We were an intrepid band of ramblers, led by Julia as we set off on a walk following a dried river bed in the Damara area of Namibia. We reached the start of the walk by taking a coach from our lodge to the point where the river bed met the road.

“Wow” Moments in Sicily

Bob regales us with “wow” moments from his one of a kind Sicilian walking holiday. A combination of luck and beauty left this group with long lasting memories. – Laura, Community Coordinator

Our private group, the Georgia (USA) Overseas Hiking Club, chose Ancient Wonders of Sicily because of the many spectacular sights that we would see. We saw so many spectacular things, but what also makes a holiday truly memorable is the unexpected bonuses that in the words of our leader, Peter Watts, are simply “wow”. We had two super “wows” on this holiday.

The first occurred in Syracuse after a dinner at the appropriately name restaurant, La Rambla. Peter invited group members to accompany him on a bonus walk to explore Ortygia Island illuminated at night. While walking we spotted a crowd along the street and heard the music of a band coming toward us. We quickly squeezed in to see what the commotion was about, only to discover a small army of men bearing an enormous silver statue of a saintly woman on a pedestal. The mystery was solved when the men began to chant, “Santa Lucia! Santa Lucia!”.

A little research revealed that Santa Lucia was born in Syracuse and martyred during the persecutions under the Roman Emperor, Diocletian. The statue itself is 90 kilos of solid silver resting on an enormous base of silver and transported on the shoulders of 60(!) very able-bodied men. No wonder the procession took periodic rest breaks. It is paraded only twice a year, and we were there!

A helpful local told us the procession would end at the Duomo (Cathedral) and kindly showed us a shortcut so we could again see the procession as it arrived. We secured a prime location on the Duomo steps and again had a marvelous sighting of the sacred pageantry. The finale was a magnificent display of fireworks that lit the sky with color and deafened the ears. Definitely, wow!

Our stay in Palermo included a visit by public bus to the remarkable Cathedral in nearby Monreale, noted for its gold and colored glass mosaics which are said to surpass even those of St Mark’s in Venice. We were early arrivals for the return bus to Palermo where our group of 21 had the opportunity to mingle with a group of 8 young adults from Macedonia who were taking a break from a conference on organized crime. Many conversations between we Americans and our new Macedonia friends ensued. As the bus departed for Palermo our new friends entertained us with one of their national songs. Upon completion, much to our amazement, the Macedonians broke out with “The Star Spangled Banner”. Naturally, we joined in the singing of our national anthem as we serenaded all of the other bus passengers. This was a very unexpected and moving moment for us. Another wow!